Air flow control device



Oct. 19, 1943. M. SERRE AIR FLOW CONTROL DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Oct. 10, 1941 Oct. 19, 1943. M. SERRE AIR FLOW CONTROL DEVICE Filed Oct. 10, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 19, 1943 Ant FLOW CONTROL DEVICE Maurice Serre, New York, N. 35., assignor to Anemostat Corporation of America, a corpora "tion of Delaware e pucatmn-oeteberm, 1941, Serial No. 414,526 Y 5 Claims. (01. 98-40) This invention relatesto the art of supplying warm or cool, fresh or'treated ai'rfto rooms or other enclosures for heating, cooling, ventilating, air conditioning or other purposes, and has for its general object to provide an airflow control device to be mounted in an air supply" duct to regulate the amount of air delivered from the duct through a bottom or side outlet opening therein, and to direct the air through said opening in a manner suchthat there is little less in velocity of thev air and the total amount of the air delivered is distributed substantially uniformly throughout the areaof: said opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for the purpose mentioned which is simple in construction, strong, durable, comparatively cheap and easy to produce, highly efiicient in operation, and which embodies a design such that it may quickly and easily be mounted in an air supply duct in operative relaan outlet opening nature of the invention is better understood,

the same, consists in a device for the purpose stated embodying the novel'features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, where like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in'related views: g. I

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through an air flow control device constructed in accordance with one practical embodiment of the invention,

showing the device ,operatively mounted within anair supply duct. 7

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of in Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are viewssimilar to Figs. 1 and 2, respectively, of an alternative form ofthe device. Referring to the drawings in detail, first with the deviceas shown particular reference to the form of the invention shown in Figs 1 and 2, A designates a portion of a supply duct for warm, cool, fresh or treated air, and Bdesignates, generally, the present air flow control device operatively mounted in said duct. y

In the drawings the ductAfis illustrated by way'of example as being dispos'ed;'horizontally and as having an opening I9 in the bottom wall I l thereof for the delivery of air therefrom in a downward directiom Regardless, however, of thedisposition of the duct A and in which wall thereof the opening I0 is provided, the-constru ction' of the device Band its relationship to the duct "wall having the opening IO-therein, and to said opening, remains essentially the same." It will be understood, therefore, that the duct may'be disposed in any position other than the position shown and that the opening [0 may be provided in any wall thereof for delivery of air therefrom'in any desired direction. In other words,the purpose of'the device B is to control delivery of air from a duct in a direction at substantially right angles to the duct, and under such conditions it is immaterial how the duct is disposed. 1

When' an air outlet opening is provided in the bottom, top or a side wall of a horizontally disposed duct, or in the front, rear or a side wall of a vertically disposed duct,. and in the absence of means to control the flow of air through said opening most'of the air tends to crowd toward the'rear end of the opening as regards the-direction of flow of air through the duct,

and-to leave the duct at an acute angle-thereto,

with the result that properly diffused -delivery I devices. Accordingly, the present device B is whereby the air may, if desired, be delivered 1 directly into a room or other enclosure without seriousdisadvantage and whereby it will be most thoroughly and satisfactorily diffused-if a diifuser is-associated with the outlet opening. Moreover,

the present device B is designed for adjustment so that the amount of delivered airmay readily be'regulated.-.- 'In' describing the invention "it willbeassumed that the device B is operativelyuassoelated with the bottoniwall of ahorizontally disposed duct A as shown in the drawing-abut it is to be understood that this is merely for the sake of simplifying "the description and avoiding ambiguity and that the terms used'are 110i;v to be construed as limiting, since; as afore-g said, the duct and the device may be disposed vertically, for example, and under such conditions the terms used are to be construed accordingly.

The device B comprises a vertically disposed, open-ended casing, designated generally as I2, composed essentially of side Wall I3, 13 and a rear wall 14, and in accordance with the invention this casing is mounted in the duct A with its lower open end either in, or in alinement with, the opening ID in the bottom wall H of said duct so that it constitutes a conduit for flow of air from said duct through the said bottom wall thereof.

The casing I2 may, of course, be mounted in the duct A in any desired manner, but to facilitate mounting of the same in said duct it preferably is provided at or near its bottom and at either its front or its rear end with a horizontallyv disposed lip 15, while at its sides and its other end it preferably is provided with outwardly extending horizontally disposed flanges 18. The opening ID is of a lengthand width to freely permit the insertion of the casing l2 therethrough into the duct A, but to prevent passing of the flanges-l6 therethrough. On the other hand, the length of the lip i is not greater than the width of the opening to whereby said lip may readily be passed with the casing 12 through said opening I ii. Accordingly, to assemble the casing 12 with the duct A, the end. of the casing having the lip l5 first is insertedxthrough the opening I!) to dispose said lip in overlying relationship to the bottom wall ll of the duct atone end of the opening and the casing then is moved upwardly until the flanges lounderlie and engage the bottom wall of the. duct at the sides and the'other end of the opening I01 therein. Thereupon, the flanges I6 are fastened to said bottom wall it by one or more screws H or in any other suitable manner. In this connection and as is apparent, the lip k5, by serving to support considerable ofathe weight'of the device 13, during the operation of mounting said device in the duct A, greatly facilitates the mounting opera-. tion. Moreover, said lip serves as a support for one end of the device B in lieu of fasteners such as screws or the like and in conjunction with the flanges lii serves effectivelyto close the open-. ing [0 against passage thcrethrough of any air outside of the casing l2.

The lip 15 may be formed as part of one end wall of the casing l2 and the flanges 16 may be formed as parts of the side walls'and another end wall of saidcasing, but preferably said. lip and flanges are parts of a bottom plate IJB upon which the casing I2 is. mounted, especially 'since the casing 12 preferably is entirely open at its front end and therefore is devoidof'a front end wall, and because it is more practical from a production standpoint to provide a bottom plate such as the plate 18 and to fasten the casing I 2 thereto than to form the lip. I5 and the flanges I6 as parts of the walls of said casing. opening IQ of suitable: size and shape is, of course, provided in the bottom plate. [8150! flow of air therethrough from the casing l2; and preferably a neck 20 is fastened-tolsaid bottom plate for the attachment to the device B of; an air outlet device of any suitable type for diffusing the air delivered from the duct A through the device B.

Within the casing 12 and, extending from side toside thereof is a series of vanes Zleach comprising a vertically disposed lower end portion and a forwardly curved upper end portion, and in accordance with the invention these vanes are spaced apart successively rearwardly and upwardly of one another. Moreover, the upper portion of the rear wall I4 of the casing I2 is curved forwardly as indicated at 22 to constitute in effect a rearmost vane. Thus, the casing I2 is divided into a series of separate air passages b, the upper open ends or mouths of which are disposed successively rearwardly and upwardly of one another and face in a direction counter to the direction of air flow through the duct A, as indicated by the arrow a. Accordingly, assuming the upper open ends or mouths of the passageways b to be unobstructed, it is manifest that some of the air flowing through the duct A will enter each passageway 27 and by thevanes 2| and the rear wall M of the casing 12 will be directed from said duct through the conduit constituted by the casing ii in a plurality of separate streams. Likewise, it is manifest that due to the vertical dispositicn of the lower end portions of the "vanes '2 I, these separate streams of air will be caused to be delivered from the duct A in a direction at substantially'right angles to'said duct. Moreover, it is manifest that the vanes 2| will serve to prevent the delivered air from crowding toward the rear end of the casing 1,2; and atrthe-rsame time will act tocause the total volume of air 'flo'wing through said casing to be distributed substantially uniformly throughout the area of the lower or outlet end thereof. Furthermore, it is manifest that due to'thecurvature of the upper portionsof the vanes 21 the delivered air will not have its. velocity seriously reduced in having its direction of flow changed from horizontally through the :duct A to. downwardly from said duct.

In the mouths, of the passageways. b are damper elements 23 which are'duplicates of one'another and each of which comprises a plate substantially corresponding'in length to. thewidth of'the casing 12 and substantially corresponding in width to the width of the mouth of its related passageway 12. At their ends and intermediate their side edgesthesedamper plates, 23*are provided with projections or'trunnion formationsv 24 which are disposed in openings 25 in the casing side walls l3, Thus, each damper element 'is of butterfly valve type and is pivotally mounted for swinging movement between a horizontally disposed, open position, as shown in full lines in Fig. l, and an upwardlyand rearwardly inclined closedposition as shown by dotted lines in said figure.

The rear edge portion of each damper element 23. is downwardly offset as indicated at 25 to accommodate the. forward, overlapping edge of the next rearwardly disposed damper element when the damper elements are completely closed. Accordingly, when the several damper elements are completely close'dthey afford a substantially continuous fia't surface to deflect ai-r over'th'e top of the device B and serve to avoid any'protubei ances againstwhich air flowing through the duct A might impinge and cause disagreeable noise.

' In this connection it will benoted that whehsaid passageways I).

assist the vanes 2| in. directing' air downwardly through the passageways bwhen the damper ele ments are opened. Furthermore, due to the damper elements being pivoted intermediate their side edges at points intermediate the sides of the mouths or the passageways b, they arebalanced as regards airflow thereagainst andin any open position thereof admit air to both the front and the rear portions of the passageways b, which is conducive to uniform distributionof delivered air throughoutthe area of the casing !2. In addition, when said damper elements are fully open they'aredisposed horizontally and offer little or no resistance to flow of air into the mouths of the A post 21 is fixed to each damper element andsaid posts are connected together by a rod 28,

whereby the several damper elements'are-adjustable in unison.- On the other hand, a'vertically' disposed, longitudinally shiftablerod 29'is connected to oneof the damper elements for rotatably adjusting the same and thereby collectively adjusting the several damper elements. The rod 29 is mounted for vertical sliding movement in a guide member 30 fastened to the lower portion of one of the vanes 2| and is pivotally connected at its upper end to its related damper element 23 as indicated at 3|. At its lower end, said rod 29 is screw threaded and has screw threaded engagement with a vertically disposed stem 32, while said stem is mounted in suitable bearing means 33 so that it is rotatable but is held against lon gitudinal movement; Accordingly, by rotating the stem 32 the rod 29 is moved vertically and adjustments thereby are imparted to the damper elements 23. The bearing means 33 may be mounted in the casing E2 or in the neckZU as shown or in an air diffuser mounted on said neck 20. In

any event, the stem 32 preferabl is disposed in axial alinement with the neck 20 so as to extend centrally through an air diffuser if same is mounted on said neck 25. In this connection and adjusting the damperelements 23', and in this connection and as shown in Fig. 3, one of the damper elements 23' may be provided with a crank arm 31 to which the upper endof the rod 29 may be pivotally connected as'indicated at 3i. In this connection and as apparent, by vertically adjusting the rod 29', the damper ele-v ments 23.may be swung between their fully open positions shown by full lines in Fig. 3 and their fully closed positions in which they extend across the mouths of'the passageways 12'' between the Without further description, it is thoughtthat the'features and advantages-of the invention will be readily understood. -i It is desired-to point out, however, that various changes in the form and proportion of parts may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the invention and as defined in the appended claims.

WhatIclaimis:

1. Aidevice to be mounted in an air supply duct to control flow of air therethrough from said duct, said device comprising an open-ended casing to be mounted in said duct in operative relationship to an opening in a wall of said duct to provide a conduitfor flow of air'from said duct, fixed spaced apart vanes in said casing having inner end portions disposed longitudinally with respect to theduct and in stepped relationship'to each other to divide the air into a plurality of separate streams, said vaneshaving outer end portions disposed at substantially right angles tov said inner end portions whereby the separate air streams are directed from the duct in a direction at substantially right angles thereto, a damper element individual to each of the as will be understood, the stem 32 may depend any desired distance below the device B and may be provided at its lower end with a suitable handle curved upper portions of the vanes 21', and are pivotally mounted so that when they are swung to open positions they each underlie the said forwardly curved upper portion of the next adjacent rearwardly disposed vane either closely adjacent thereto or in engagement therewith. Each damper element is provided at its ends with arms and said arms are fixed to studs 34, which are journaled in openings in the side walls I3 of the casing 12 at points coinciding with the center of curvature of the upper portion of the related vane 2|. In addition, the several studs 36 at one side of the casing [2 have fixed thereto arms 35 which are connected together by a rod 36 whereby the several damper elements are adjustable in unison.- A vertically disposed, longitudinally movable rod 29 is provided as in the case of the Figs. 1 and 2 form of the invention for spaces between said vanes, said damper elements being located adjacent to the inlet'ends of said spaces, pivotal connections between said damper elements at the ends thereof and the side walls of said casing so that said damper elements are rotatable between open and closed positions with respect to the inlet ends of said spaces, said pivotal connections being disposed in a plane inclined with respect to said duct and said damper elements when in closed positions lying in sub.-

stantially a common plane inclined with respect to said duct for smooth flow over the same of air'flowing, through said duct, and actuating means for said damper elements.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the damper elements are pivoted intermediate their front. and rear edges and substantially midway between the inner end portions of the vanes.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the vanes and the damper elements are arcuately curved and in which the damper element pivots are located at the centers of curvature of said damper elements and said vanes for disposition of said damper elements when in their open positions substantially against the curved portions of said vanes.

p 4. A device to be mounted in an air supply duct to control flow of air therethrough from said duct, said device comprising an open-ended casing to be mounted in said duct in operative re lationship to an opening in a wall of the duct to provide a conduit for flow of air from the duct, fixed, spaced apart vanes in said casing for dividing the air into a plurality of separate streams and for directing the streams through said cas-. ing from the duct in a direction at substantially right angles to the duct, an adjustable damper element individual to each of the spaces between 1 said vanes for regulating the amount of air flowing from the duct through said. casing, means connecting said damper elements together for unitary adjustment, an actuating element for said damper elements connected to one of said damper elements, said actuating element being disposed coaxially with respect to said casing and extending from said casing for manipulation to adjust said damper elements, and a guide for said actuating element carried by one of said vanes and in which said actuating element is mounted for longitudinal sliding movement to adjust said damper elements. 3

5. A device to be mounted in an air supply duct to control flow of air therethrough from said duct, said device comprising an open-ended casing to be mounted in' said duct in operative relationship to an opening in a wall of said duct to provide a conduit for flow of air from said duct, fixed spaced apart vanes in said casing having inner end portions disposed longitutinally with respect to the duct and in stepped relationship to each other to divide the air into a plurality of separate streams, said vanes having outer end portions disposed at substantially right angles to said inner end portions whereby the separate air streams are directed from the duct in a direction at'substantially right angles thereto, said vanes being arcuately curved between their inner and outer end portions, a damper element individual to each of the spaces between said vanes, each damper element being arcuately curved corresponding to the curvature of said vanes and being pivotally mounted at its center of curvature in said casing at the center of ourvature of the related vane for swinging movement between a closed position with respect to its related space and an open position in which it lies substantially against the curved portion of the vane forming the rear wall of the related space, means connecting said damper elements together forlunitary rotary adjustment to regulate theamount of air flowing from said duct through said casing,vand actuating means for said damper elements.

MAURICE SERRE. 

